Air Berlin and Lufthansa to build long-haul flights

Germany's two largest airlines announced Wednesday that they planned to beef up their long-haul operations. Lufthansa plans on working more with Singapore Airlines and Air Berlin plans to add more U.S. flights. Both airlines have fallen behind competitors like British Airways in long-haul and EasyJet and Ryanair in short-haul flights.

To make the venture work, Singapore and Lufthansa plan to seek antitrust immunity to build a joint venture so they can coordinate pricing and schedules in an effort to win back business they've lost to Qatar Airways and Emirates Airline. Air Berlin plans to focus on regularly scheduled flights under streamlined operations. Long-haul flights to San Francisco, Boston, and Dallas will be added.

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